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Thursday, November 20, 2014

On Wednesday, Oct. 15, both the Juniors and Sophomores took the PSATs at New Hope Solebury High School. The PSATs tested mathematics, writing skills, and critical reading.

The PSATs are a way to prepare students for the SATs. When students receive their PSAT scores in December, those scores will illustrate what sections that particular student excelled in and where they struggled. This will provide a clear direction on what sections students need to focus more on when preparing for SATs. Scores will also show how likely a student is to succeed in certain AP courses and college. Lastly, if a student does well on the PSAT, they may be eligible for certain scholarship opportunities.

Many will argue that taking the PSATs is a waste of time and believe that the scores received are not an importance to anything. However, if a student where to excel on the PSATs, there may be a potential scholarship at hand toward college. Also, a student's SAT score does count for a lot and ultimately determines what schools they get accepted to. Their PSATs can help them see what areas on the SAT they might struggle on.

“I did not find the PSATs that hard. Some sections were harder than others but all in all they were not too bad. I think the PSATs are a helpful test since they will show me areas I need to improve in before taking the SATs,” said by Junior classman Madison Walsh.

Overall, the PSATs are a helpful test that only benefits students. They can help them excel in the SATs tremendously which will only create a tremendous amount of opportunities for students involving college.

Ever since the introduction of the 1:1 devices, students have been finding ways to customize them to fit their personal preference. A lot of people usually change their desktop background, lock screens or color scheme, but most students do not realize they can also customize the exterior. Some different ideas that have floated around the school include different cases and also stickers to make the laptop more unique and recognizable. Some people cover the back with loads of different stickers or art and some others put a brand logo on top of the school emblem. These means of tablet customization are all acceptable but it’s important to keep anything added appropriate and make sure it’s not something that can damage the computer.

Some examples of stickers that you can expect to see throughout the year are for sports teams, clothing brands, and other miscellaneous designs. There is a wide range of different reasons; however, the most common thing people have said when asked about it is simply: “I don’t know, I thought it looked cool,” which is perfectly valid; who wouldn’t want their laptop to look better?

Some people only decide to cover up the school emblem, while others plaster the back with a bunch of obscure stickers, but no matter what, it reflects a degree of creativity for those who aren’t content with a bland laptop.

The simple concept of change is what makes the world go around. Humans are perceptibly addicted to change and therefore, there is always “new.” We love new things and as time goes, so does our interest for the “old” things we once liked when they were “newer.”

Recently, it appears that even social media is becoming old, despite the uproar in teenagers abilities to access high-end technology. It’s a simple law; everything eventually dies, whether it’s material or not. But why? Why is the thought to be inevitable idea of social media decreasing in interest?

First off, to state a given, everything becomes old and therefore less interesting and appealing to the human brain. However, let’s get into more detail. Privacy is a substantial topic and one that is affecting whether or not people use social media sites. Organizations like the NSA and several businesses have been the main conversation of social network. These types of companies are known to collect data and seemingly spy on people through social network. These consequences certainly affect the outcome of many having social media sites, but surprisingly a different and more simplistic type of privacy is even more game-changing.

This privacy reason may appear dull, but a plethora of our peers affect the way we use social media or even if we use social media. For example, over time, one may begin to start to receive follows or requests from specific people like family, coworkers, friends of friends, and even people who are unknown. This plays a large factor in social media because many people on social network sites are surrounded by people whom they are not necessarily close with. With this said, more and more people are beginning to become uncomfortable with posting and sharing information or opinions on these sites, and therefore are losing interest in social media.

Additionally, the main reason for social network is not for communication, but for entertainment. Entertainment is often broadcasted on these sites by specific companies and organizations and people enjoy this type of material. However, after people realize the majority of substance is entertainment than discussion, numerous people end up turning to the specific publisher of that content rather than searching for it on a website like Facebook.

Ultimately, the peak of social media usage has already appeared and now it’s back on its way down again. With the law of change, privacy issues, and publisher content attraction, don’t expect to get many followers any time soon.